Sherlock and the White case
by Dragon Kamisama
Summary: Tessa Holmes comes seeking Sherlock, her father, as instructed by her mother's note and disappearance. Now it is upto the consulting detective to find the missing woman along with top secret information that Mycroft seems to have lost. He will face many challenges however the most challenging task could be his daughter and their relationship.
1. Chapter 1

Tessa stepped out of Heathrow on a very foggy morning, her cheeks flushed due to the cold. She had travelled to London to seek out the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. Her father. Yes, she, Tessa Brianna Holmes, had come to London to meet her high functioning sociopath father. Why was she bothering to meet with a father that never cared about her or her mother? A face flashed in front of her. That's right, her mother's disappearance and her not very helpful note. 'Find your father- he will help.'

Like that will ever happen. A gust of wind blew over her blonde hair and she pulled her dark blue overcoat around her. She dragged her small case onto the pavement and hailed a cab.

"And where would the young miss wish to go?", the cabbie asked. Tessa pulled her black beanie hat down and replied, "221b Baker Street".

John Watson awoke to the sound of Sherlock's violin. His flatmate's finesse at the instrument never ceased to amaze him, however this screeching just had to stop. John hauled himself over to where the dark haired man stood, his hawkish features scrunched together, dragging the bow randomly over the stretched strings. "What in the devil's name are you doing, Sherlock? Do you have any idea how horrible that noise was?" Watson tried and failed to suppress a yawn while reprimanding his best friend.

"Oh, John! Good morning. I suppose you had a good night's sleep." Sherlock put down the bow and faced the doctor with a polite smile.

John was mildly surprised as the consulting detective was rarely polite to anyone at all. "Why, yes, than…"

"Then let us be off! We have work to do." Sherlock breezed pass Watson, threw on his black overcoat and walked downstairs. Watson stood still for a second. Ultimately his mind registered something and he followed the detective, muttering obscenities and repeatedly shouting 'Sherlock' angrily.

Out on the streets in front of 221b, John confronted Sherlock Holmes. "Did you wake me up just to go on a case?"

"Of course, why else would I play something so horribly disgusting? Every thing I do has a perfectly sound reason behind an interesting case in months!" Sherlock practically jumped in excitement. As his jumpy self approached the road in preparation for hailing a cab, a car carrying a passenger stopped in front of him. Tessa stepped out and addressed the detective, "Mr. William Sherlock Holmes? I'm Tessa Brianna Holmes, your daughter and I'm afraid we have a lot to discuss."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hi all hope you enjoyed the previous chapter. I don't own Sherlock or the characters except my oc and the plot of this fic. This disclaimer applies to the previous chapter as well.**_

 ** _Anyway here is the news chapter and please leave a review thanks a bunch!_**

 ** _"Mr. William Sherlock Holmes? I'm Tessa Brianna Holmes, your daughter and I'm afraid we have a lot to discuss_**."

The face that Sherlock made was one of confusion and surprise. 'Daughter? Holmes?' was what the doctor thought. 'Sherlock never does relationships!'

The dark haired man towered above Tessa and coldly responded, "I have no daughter. Now if you'll excuse me while I get in this wonderful cab that you have brought for me, thank you very much." Before he could make a move, Tessa spoke to the cabbie, "I think you should drive off now.", she said throwing some cash on the seat. The driver took the hint and made off with the extra money.

Tessa turned and smiled at the men behind her. This was when Watson first saw a similarity between the two. Her smile was exactly the one Sherlock gave when he blackmailed someone, clearly indicating his upper hand in the matter. That exact smile that stretched both ends and dimples began to show. And now Tessa had an upper hand and she showed that exact smile which clearly infuriated the detective. Tessa was ecstatic. Truth be told, she actually admired her father's works and was a regular visitor to the Science of Deduction. To have an upper hand had a good feeling.

"That was a wasted opportunity. How can you do such a thing." Sherlock sighed at the disappearing cab. He now turned his piercing eyes towards the girl, ready to analyse and use any, 'pressure points' as Magnussen used to say.

Sherlock wondered why he didn't do it in the first place. 'Right the cab. Oh well better late than never.'

 _Medium build, some physical strength, half her lip chewed off shows her frequent nervous behaviour, uncannily observant and quick with reflexes. Collar peeking out from under coat suggests that she dressed in a hurry to be here obviously. Small case , doesn't expect to stay long and she has travelled by air. Has some regard for appearances based on the basic makeup. Tanning around collar, she is from somewhere sunny like Florida or France. France, judging by the tag on the case. No lives in Florida and a stopover at France._

"Now why would anyone travel all the way from Florida to meet me. This can hardly be a visit to check on me ."

Tessa didn't look surprised at the deduction. Instead she smiled and replied, " to give you a case of course."

Sherlock sensed an interesting case and he was curious as to how the girl knew of his full name. Almost nobody knew that 'Sherlock Holmes' was not his full name and an even fewer number of those people knew what his name was. Practically just his parents and brother know and John.

John stepped up and politely greeted Tessa. "How about we sit inside and discuss over a pot of Mrs. Hudson's tea?" "How kind of you to let me come." Said Tessa and she followed the doctor and the detective into the flat filled with toxic chemicals and what not. Frankly Tessa was slightly shocked and fascinated, however she tried to hide her fascination by ignoring the various pots and pans.

"I see that you are mildly amused by my experiments."Sherlock sat on his couch, a smile playing on his lips. John offered Tessa a seat and took his own designated seat opposite Sherlock. In the silence that followed, Watson fully comprehended their guest and observed the various similarities between father and daughter. Both had the same nose and high cheek bones and her eyes were the same crystallised blue as his were. However she bore other features that Watson perceived as from her mother…whoever she is.

"Well now, how are you my daughter?"

"I should assume it too be quite obvious. You did it with my mother."

"Yes, but I don't remember doing it. Frankly I don't do it."

"Well you certainly did sixteen years ago."

Sherlock was about to retort when Mrs. Hudson arrived with the tea. "Ah! Mrs. Hudson, you can put it on the table."

"I'm your landlady not your housekeeper, Sherlock. And your brother is here to see you."

"Well tell him I'm attending to business…"

"Which is certainly not as important as nuclear codes, brother mine?"


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hello, it's Dragon Kamisama. Hope you enjoyed all the previous chapters. Well here's a new one. Also I can only work o this because I'm on vacation, so production may be slowed when school starts. Disclaimer! I don't own Sherlock although I would love to. And if I did I would try and add another 2 seasons. I only own my OC and the plot of this fic.? ﾟﾘﾊ**_

 ** _"Which is certainly not as important as nuclear codes, brother mine?"_**

"Oh, dear. Was the government database hacked again? Don't you suppose it's time to upgrade?" Sherlock linked his fingers in front of his face and smirked at his brother, Mycroft.

"This is no time for games. Never mind your usual trivia. This is of national importance."

Sherlock calmly pointed at Tessa, "I doubt this is trivial, especially to me. So, I can't." He picked up his violin and plucked at the strings. "Continue as if my brother never rudely interrupted us."

Tessa said, "you got to find my mom. She left you something." She handed Sherlock an envelope, very bulky. 'Atleast he seems to be willing to find my mom.'

"Don't make me order you, Sherlock." Came the stern voice of a very stressed Mycroft.

Sherlock smirked again, "I'd like to see you try."

Exasperated, Mycroft walked over and dropped a bundle on John's lap. "Name's Amanda Scott Cray…

"That's my mother!" Shouted Tessa. Mycroft looked like as if he truly saw her only for the first time. "Well it looks like you were already on the case." Mycroft smiled. "You must be her daughter, Cressida?"

Tessa bit her lip, her half-sister always made her nervous. For her mother, it was important that the public never knew of her illegitimate daughter. Tessa had to bear that cross everyday. She got royal upbringing, but was never in public. Cressy was neither, but people knew of her existence and she took it as an opportunity to be superior to Tessa.

"Actually, it's Tessa. Tessa Brianna Holmes." She instantly blushed. "Holmes?" Mycroft stood baffled. "Apparently, her mother had a fling with Sherlock." Watson finally put in a word.

"Well someone has been naughty" Mycroft looked at his younger brother with wide eyes. Sherlock, meanwhile had been reading the letter and examining it's contents, completely oblivious to Mycroft's teasing."Amanda was clever. She included DNA reports and your birth certificate knowing I would have forgotten about it. Unfortunately, I accept when evidence is provided."

John was surprised, " Sherlock, you can't just forget about something like this!"

'Was? My mother is not dead' Tessa was angry inside.

"It was irrelevant information and I wasn't about to waste precious storage space in my brain with stuff like that."

"But Sherlock…"

"What? I didn't require this information until now." John sighed ultimately giving up on the detective.

"Amanda was an ex-British spy.." Mycroft began.

"Yes, it says that quite clearly here. Also, that she became a public figure in order to gain access to a lot of high order places. And, she had been unraveling an underground mafia, when she learned of a set of nuclear codes being stolen from the British government. Find her and find the codes."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hi there, it's Dragon Kamisama with a new chapter for you! Guys thank you for your review and compliment. I was so happy, please continue leaving reviews so that I may improve on my writing. This chapter has a code that I drew on word but idk if it copies here properly. Anyway let's read chapter 4.**_

"Amanda was an ex-British spy.." Mycroft began.

"Yes, it says that quite clearly here. Also, that she became a public figure in order to gain access to a lot of high order places. And, she had been unraveling an underground mafia, when she learned of a set of nuclear codes being stolen from the British government. Find her and find the codes. I like a nice clever puzzle." Sherlock smiled.

"Yes, Amanda was very clever indeed."

"My mother is still alive!" Tessa exclaimed. "Don't refer to her in the past tense."

Sherlock handed her the letter. "According to this, she is."

"What!?"

 _Dear Sherlock,_

 _If my Tessie has arrived and has given this letter to you, then it means that I am missing and probably dead too. She is your daughter Sherlock and I want you to take care of her, she won't be of much trouble. I've included proof because I know that you of all people would want some identification. As for the codes I managed to take them from the underground mafia that I had been tailing ever since my retirement from spy work. I hid them at my final resting place. Don't worry, I've left clues for you to follow. Tessie will be your guide._

 __ . ... ... ._ ... .. _.. ._

 _Love,_

 _Amanda_

Sherlock saw the tears well up in Tessa's eyes. He moved to wipe them away. His face held no emotion. "Do you recognise the code?" Sherlock wanted to see if she held any intelligence comparable to him.

"Yes, my mother and I used this code frequently." Tessa read the code aloud, "Tessa hide"

The code didn't make sense to Tessa. She frowned. "Why would she ask me to hide?"

Sherlock smiled. "You're the first clue." Mycroft said. "Well I shall be off. No point loitering when I have matters to consult."

"You mean manipulate the government?" Sherlock joked.

Mycroft sighed, "As I've said before, I only occupy a minor position in the government."

"Like the head of the Secret Service Agency." Tessa just had to say that.

Mycroft looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "I will assume that you did not say that." He twirled his staff and made his way back down the stairs. "Now back to the problem. Why would she tell you to hide, unless you have information about something that you don't going by the look on your face. Mycroft said that you were the first clue. Think, Tessa, did Amanda tell you anything specific? Anything about a place preferably?" Tessa teared at the mention of her mother but wiped it away and closed her eyes. She thought about the past few days and her mother's odd behaviour.

(flashback)

'Tessa remember…'

'Game of thrones…'

'Most expensive of pinks..'

'Cluedo…envelope'

"Mum? Why are you watching TV shows?" Tessa's mother always called the television a lazy mans device, however here she was doing exactly that.

"Mummy's got to, honey. Yes, she has to. Tessie?"

"Mum."

"Remember your vacation, it's always the best part of your life."

At that moment, Tessa didn't understand what she meant but now, now it made sense.

She opened her eyes and smiled, " We're going to Scotland."


	5. Chapter 5

Tessa was back at Heathrow for the second time that day. This time however, she was with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. And she was bound to Scotland. Her mother's clues were blatantly obvious at the right time.

"How did you figure out Scotland?" asked Sherlock, for the fourth time. To Sherlock, any un-solved puzzle irritated him and he wanted the answers at that precise moment. "It was the place where my mother wanted to go to the most. She would call it her hideaway from the spotlight." Tessa replied. "Ofcourse! Something only you would know about."

Due to their last minute booking, John only managed to acquire scattered seats. Two together and one at the back. Sherlock had claimed the single seat. The prospect of sitting with strangers and deriving embarrassing secrets, seemed appealing to the detective. Unfortunately for him, John suspected some harassment if he left Sherlock on his own. The two of them argued for a while over who was going to sit where. John managed to convince Sherlock not to sit alone on the account of Tessa being a minor and needing supervision. Although Tessa was quite sure her father was the one who needed supervision and sure enough, she heard John muttering about not having to babysit Sherlock for once.

So now father and daughter sat next to each other on the flight, Sherlock next to the window and she in the middle. A neat old woman was seated at the aisle. Tessa peaked over the seat at John who was sitting uncomfortably between a sickly looking man and an oversized boy , who seemed to be very interested in John.

"He'll be fine." Sherlock said, absently. He had his eyes closed. Tessa looked at him pointedly. He looked across at her, "He's particularly good when it comes to dealing with people who are drawn to his bad luck."

"And obviously you are one of them." Tessa retorted back. "I suppose, but then again, John isn't good with dealing with me. Let's see…" He stared intensely at Tessa. It was only a minute later that she realised that Sherlock was staring at the lady behind her, no doubt doing a mental analysis of his subject. "Spinster eh? I can see why." The lady tried stifling a gasp, she was clearly offended. Tessa immediately realised what John had meant by babysitting. It meant making sure Sherlock didn't get bored and start offending people around him.

" I apologise for my father. He does that all the time!" Tessa said with a smile. The lady seemed to calm down. However Sherlock just had to put in a word. "Excuse me, but you haven't known me for long. In fact only for a couple of hours."

"Well I can read you like you read her, we are family after all."

The lady hurriedly requested a seat change and John ended up sitting in her place. "What blasted thing did you do?" "The usual." Sherlock replied nonchalantly. "I'm sorry is there anything you didn't do?" An irritated John asked. "No detailed description and I feel that Tessa was the one who drove the hag away." John couldn't quite believe it. "Why not? We are family after all." Sherlock quoted Tessa. She looked down,quite embarrassed by the situation. John just sighed, "I suppose. Don't disturb my sleep though." And he slipped into quiet slumber.

"Let's play a game." Sherlock proposed. Tessa didn't want to. "Fine! I shall have some shut eye as well."

'Thank goodness.' John thought. Soon even Tessa had closed her eyes. She gently rested on her fathers shoulder. 'They really are father and daughter.' He smiled as the plane flew to it's destination.


	6. Chapter 6

**SCOTLAND**

"A place where bagpipes run rampant and men wear those skirt things." Sherlock rushed over to the exit, eager to leave the crowded airport. He hoped that Watson had not heard him or else...

"Sherlock! It's a kilt! Honestly how do you not know these things."

"Unlike you, I feel that I don't need to fill my storage space with useless information, which is probably why I am much more smarter than you."

Tessa was trying to ignore the two adults, however she was finding it difficult as she was somehow in between the two. She looked around the area and spotted a tourism booth.

"Um guys can you save your bickering till after we find lodging?" Tessa directed their attention to the tourism booth. They walked over and Watson decided that he had to be the one to settle matters for them. While he was speaking to the guy at the desk, Tessa looked through some of the brochures.

"Is Scotland really that interesting?" A deep voice asked. Tessa looked up into dark blue eyes and then noticed the devilishly handsome face. "Maybe...I wouldn't really know." She answered cautiously. She looked across at Sherlock and saw him stand behind Watson, apparently interested at what they were discussing.

"That someone your acquaintance?" He had a slight Scottish accent. "Yeah, that's my dad." Tessa replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable with this stranger.

"Tessa! We found a place." Watson called, Sherlock was walking towards the exit.

"I gotta go..." Tessa turned but the man caught her arm and leaned over her shoulder. "Scotland ain't what it seems, there's a reason why it had the highest murder rates at one point." He whispered and let go of her arm. As soon as she was let go, she ran over to the exit, not bothering to look behind as she was pretty sure that the man was still watching her.

 _ **Pretty short I know...I'm sorry. But I have something big planned so...**_


	7. Chapter 7

The man stared at his computer waiting. Finally, the laptop beeped and the screen came to life. On it there was a picture of a girl with blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. The man leaned forward, as if trying to memorize every detail in her face. He grinned. "I've found you. His ticket out of hell."

Tessa stepped into the adjoining room, mostly because she wanted to grab her case and crash on her bed, but also because John wanted to discuss a few things.

They had bought adjoining rooms with connecting doors.

"Ah Tessa. We need to talk about what to do next. Now that we're here in Scotland…"

"No need. I already have a good idea where the underground mafia is located." Sherlock spoke from his arm-chair under the window. "We have an appointment tomorrow night."

"Sherlock! You can't be serious. How did you even find out without any information?"

"The homeless network, I suppose?" Tessa had already contemplated asking the same network, but her father was quicker in acting upon his decisions. "Get information when you don't have any. Quite a brilliant strategy."

"And now I think you will say you were going to do the same thing as me and justify with,'we are family after all' and other sentimental crap. Remember I still haven't accepted you as my daughter. I'm only here because you hve offered me a case and I have chosen to solve it. You are nothing more than my client."

"Sherlock! How could you…"

Tessa was hurt. Well anyone would be if your only father said such things, but this was Sherlock, so she had accepted that he had not accepted her a long time ago. She replied, "you're right. I'm your client and you're my hired consulting detective. So you will solve this case and I wont accept anything else but the truth."

She walked out of the room and let the connecting door fall with a bang.

John was furious. Sure Sherlock was cold to most people, brother included, but this time…

"SHERLOCK! YOU WENT TOO FAR. SHE'S A CHILD FOR GOD'S SAKE."

"John…"

"NO SHERLOCK. I DON'T CARE FOR YOUR REASONING, HOW COULD YOU JUST…"

"John…"

"SHE'S JUST LOST HER MOTHER AND NOW HER FATHER…"

"John! Shut up for once will you? I just needed to create some distance…make sure that she's not attatched. Make sure that she's not a potential target for my sake."

"But you took the wrong approach…"

Sherlock pinched his forhead and slumped on the couch. "Doesn't matter now. It was the best approach. I'll go shower, why don't you order some food or something."

'What nonsense!' Tessa furiously opened her case and prepared for bed. 'Best approach my foot.' She had been listening in on Watson and Sherlock and she was not happy with what she heard. She flopped onto the bed and as soon as she felt the soft covers she cooled off. Her mother's face came into her mind. 'I miss you mum. Why did you have to go?' She sighed and snuggled into the bedsheets.

She heard a soft click of door knob and assumed Watson had come to check on her. "I'm not hungry but thanks anyway Dr. Watson. If you don't mind can you shut the door please?"

No anwer. "Dr. Watson?" Tessa turned around and immediately faded into black.

John heard a knock on the door and a faint call, "room service!" was heard. 'Ah food at last. Hope Tessa is hungry.' He opened the door but what he saw was a trolley with a picture of Tessa. 'I KNOW WHO SHE IS.'

John felt bile coming up his throat. He rushed and pulled at the connecting door to the youth's room and he saw a bed with signs of struggling and an open balcony. He didn't know if the chill he felt was from the cold night air or from his dread.

Hope you enjoy the suspense and wait for the next chapter guys. It's coming out soon. Bye!


	8. Chapter 8

**'Sup guys! It's Dragon Kamisama! Another instalment is here! Hope you will enjoy this. Thank you for the review guys. Please continue telling me thoughts on the story. Keep reading guys!**

Tessa awoke with hands chained up and legs tied down. She couldn't quite see yet, but she could perfectly hear. 'A voice. Male presumedly...or a very deep female voice perhaps. Then she heard the footsteps. Heavy and light. A male and female...maybe. Or an adult and child? Two people definitely. One a lot heavier than the other. Definitely. More voices... oh now it's a female and two male voices. Definitely. And definitely not the boss around here.' By now she could see a little and see tried to figure out where she is.

'Damp corner. Big room. Stone floor? With hay? Are we in some castle cellar or something? Oh great...it's raining and water is coming through. This is the worst room I've ever been in!'

"Yes, I don't suppose you've ever been in such a room." a voice came through the door. "Although I'm surprised you're awake so soon." Tessa gasped, she didn't realise she had said the last part out. "Whose there?" she asked.

"Now come on! The great Sherlock Holmes' daughter! You of all people should know what a stupid question that is." he laughed.

"Was worth a shot anyway. Who knows, you might just reveal your identity for dramatic purposes or some sort of alternate personality like 'I am your Archenemy'. Or you might just be a stupid person who's got some guts or a very idiotic fan?...Or..."

He laughed again, cutting her off. "Well sorry to dash your hopes but I'm not falling for that. But I will tell you this, there is a key underneath the hay you're sitting on. Most of my colleagues think it is very risky to put the key right under your nose, but I think it infuriates you more to know where the key is, your route to freedom, but it's just out of your reach. Well? Are you feeling irritable? I don't suppose the daughter of a film star is used to such spaces?"

"You're wrong." Tessa spoke quietly. "I'm not irritable. Unlike my father, I happen to be very tolerable. And my mother was not a film star, please do your research correctly. My mother is a public figure. Someone who runs charitable businesses."

"I could care less what your mother was in the outside world. I only care about what she is in the underground world. As for your tolerance...let's just wait and watch shall we?" he laughed again but much softer and walked down the corridor, laughing all the way.

"I'm beginning to think that all he does is laugh. Must be nice" Tessa mumbled to herself.

"You're not wrong there." another voice spoke up. "He literally laughs all the time, but he does a lot."

"Ok, now who are you." Tessa sighed. The door unlocked revealing a man. Tessa squinted at him but there was not enough light to make out the face. "You remember me?" he asked softly. "No sorry, I can't see you very well." Tessa said. He stepped forward and knelt right in front of her. "Now?" he asked, hopeful.

Tessa gasped."It's you!" She remembered the handsome face from the airport. It was only today morning after all. He grinned, "It's me alright. But my name is William and I kinda owe your mother." He smiled even wider. "I'm here to bust you out, Tessa."

 **How was it? Good? Bad? Okay? Tell me in the review that you guys give. Also does anyone know what will happen? Guesses? I would love to hear your opinions on how this can go.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi all! I'm baaack! With a new chapterrrr!**

Sherlock paced up and down the room, all thoughts regarding his refreshing bath stopped with the arrival of a blasted food trolley. 'Leverage. That's what they'll be using her as. Leverage!' John sat hunched in the couch. "I didn't even hear! I was right next to the door!"

"Don't blame yourself John. You're partially deaf in one ear. Besides the plan was executed to a professional degree. Only minimal amounts of struggling can be gleamed, as such it can be passed of as the aftermath of one using the bed."

"AND YOU! WILL YOU JUST KEEP DEDUCING OR WILL YOU DO SOMETHING ALREADY! SHE'S YOUR FREAKING DAUGHTER FOR GOD'S SAKE!" John immediately jumped towards the dresser where he pocketed a letter opener.

"And what do you think you can achieve with that?" asked Sherlock, eyeing the blunt silver object, glistening in the moonlight. "Much more than you can." John retorted. Sherlock bristled and then proceeded to say, "The news should be arriving in about three minutes."

"What the bloody hell are talking about?!"

Sherlock sighed and paused near the window. Precisely three minutes later, a woman about thirty approached the hotel. She began waving methodically and started causing a ruckus. Eventually she got dragged off but not before Sherlock and John had stepped out and the detective had pressed the promised fee into the lady's hands.

"Let's go meet Mobius. Shall we?" Sherlock walked off with John following him with the letter opener clutched in his hands. "For goodness' sake John, put that thing away. We look like madness in the streets."

William strode down the rocky hallway with Tessa in tow, stumbling due the length of the black cloak that William had hastly thrown over her to cover her identity. 'He walks way too fast.' Tessa all but managed to keep up with the tall man in front of her. They rounded one corner after the other and soon Tessa couldn't comprehend the ways of the labyrinth.

Two rights later William turned and whispered, "We'll be out quickly from here." Tessa looked into the deep blue eyes and found excitement. He looked towards the next left, but jumped back after a cool voice called from behind.

"And what might the second in command, my right hand man be doing with a young lass in these parts?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey y'all! The Great Dragon Goddess present you with a new chapter that is very much longer than the previous chapter. She also humbly requests that you enjoy this story and write a bunch of Reviews.**

 **A special scroll with deep thanks and affections is sent out to galwidanatitud. Her Royal Highness sends her affections and wishes that you continue with your support as it is necessary and very vital to her health and the continuation of this story.**

 **Thus let's proceed...**

 _'And what might the second in command, my right hand man be doing with a young lass in these parts?'_

William whipped around to find himself face to face with the owner of the voice. He smiled, but only briefly before pulling Tessa behind him. She peered from behind and looked unto the man. Laugh lines crinkled at the edge of his eyes, making him seem like a kindly man but his pupils themselves were pools of black water and they had a sinister feeling in them. He was not too old and therefore did not look young either. Tessa observed the man a little but the main distinguishing feature that she could gleam from his character was that he was a liar and could not be trusted. She also felt that he had a purpose and stared at him hard trying to discover his secrets as her father would have done. 'A good homemaker but deadly.' is what she finally thought to herself.

The man closed his eyes and smiled. In this expression all that was sinister was expelled at once and Tessa realised his true potential. One glance at him would give you the impression that he was harmless, but underneath all the malice was stored and the fact that it could and would be overlooked was the most scary thing about the man. "Well William? May get a good look at the lass? She couldn't be the one Mobius had been hunting for now would she?" He moved around and reached a hand for Tessa to take.

"I would prefer it if you keep your hands away from her." William said through his teeth, an obviously fake smile plastered on his face. "You're an old and lecherous person, and my protégée will not fall into your hands." The man stroked his imaginary beard, and gave William a hard look. "Protégée eh? Well can I test her skills then, second in command? I would like a nice exercise since there's not much happening here. Well except for the arrival of the girl and subsequently her father. I hear he's coming over as we speak." Tessa gripped the cloak around her. 'Father's coming!'

"Lass? What do you say, eh? Care for a few sparing rounds?" "Um..." Tessa began, but William cut her off. "Not now Prettch. She is needed somewhere else. As a stand-in for the girl when her father comes over, wouldn't want to give away the real thing so quickly now would we?" Prettch looked at William and for a moment William wondered if he bought his story at all. He became tense and stared back. All at once the man replied, "I wonder...well run along now, I'll see if I can get the prisoner girl to come over to me. Would you like to try second-in-command? I hear she's like a spring chicken, a lot like this one here..."

"I doubt she would Prettch. And stop calling me second-in-command, you know I am only a mere subordinate."

"Ay lad, you don't know until you try. Who knows, for freedom she might?" He winked. Tessa felt sick in her stomach. "I'm off then second-in-command." He deliberately stretched out the last three words before walking away, softly chuckling.

"Who was that creep?" Tessa asked. But instead of a reply, she was dragged along the corridor with more urgency than before. William was muttering, "shit shit shit..." as he took the girl by her arm. "We need to get out quickly before Prettch realises was happened. He may look old but they don't call him the keeper of darkness for no reason." Tessa quietly followed, deciding that she would grill William later and put aside all the questions that flooded her mind. She wanted to know how William knew her mother and what debt he spoke about. She also wanted to see father, but all that had to wait. For now she had to escape the creep and the laughing lunatic, who she was sure was also a force to be reckoned with as much as the creep was.

 **M. O. B. I. U. S.** _Hotel, lounge and bar._

Sherlock stood outside on the almost empty street. He waited patiently, staring at the neon board. 'Cheap, tacky... filled with nicotine and cigarette smoke.' He smiled. Well at least the place had something good to offer. Otherwise, it would've be a complete waste of time before he could get to the good parts, i.e., solving another case and flinging the lost materials at Mycroft. 'Oh, how fun...not.' Sherlock thought about how John would probably stop him from buying a smoke. 'Boring!' he sighed. Just then John returned from relieving himself and was surprised to find Sherlock fingering a gun. "How'd you get that?"

"Mycroft." Sherlock simply answered. "This is also a undercover mission of the government, of course guns are involved. Really John, how do you get around with that brain of yours. In fact how does anybody function without common sense."

"Quite brilliantly." came the snarky reply. "Hmmm, I envy you a little. You probably never get bored of everything like I do." Sherlock said. "Yeah, it's a good life to live." John stated and raised his eyebrows. "Are we at the right place? Surely you're not here just for the secondary smoking?"

"Am I ever wrong?" Sherlock placed the gun into his coat. "No, but you tend to be quite misleading. Like the guy from the Baskerville incident..." John looked at Sherlock. "Who?" Sherlock appeared disinterested. "You know the case with the hounds..."

"I remember the case of course, but which guy do you mean?" Sherlock waited for a beat before, "Never mind, better get inside. It's almost time." He did a little tap dance before walking in with a smile. John just shook his head and followed. Sherlock approached the receptionist and asked, "Quite the place you have here." The receptionist curtly asked, "Do you have a reservation?" "Yes of course, um let me see, a Mr. Omubis?"

The lady, Sherlock observed, was very professional and had a slight lisp. She was, of course, married, however her connections revealed that she was unhappily so.

She calmly looked over the records and then said, "I'm sorry I'm afraid we don't have such a reservation." "Haha, I must've got the wrong place. Tell me is this the hotel owned by the M. Corporates?"

"Uh, yes this is the place. However, I can get you a last minute booking." she smiled at him. "Really! Oh please do so, and tell me, you guys have a basement right? My car's outside an I don't want it towed." Sherlock continued the smile cheerfully. "We do have one sir, but it is currently under maintenance..."

Sherlock's smile dropped instantly. "Maintenance is it?" The receptionist smiled and apologised. "I'm really sorry, you have to park your car somewhere else." "Quite right." Sherlock drawled in his baritone voice. "I'll step out then." John proceeded to the exit. Sherlock whipped his phone out and quickly texted John. He slipped the phone right where the gun was stored and pulled it out. The lady stared at the hand that held the gun and she slowly got up.

"Tell Mobius an old acquaintance of his is waiting. Also, he wants his daughter back." Sherlock smiled once again.

 **Well that was intense. Theses fingers of mine seem to have a mind of their own. It's quite scary. Well tell me what did you think of this one? Is the story progressing in the direction you thought it would? What do you want to see happen in the next chapter?**

 **Well until next time! See you !**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone! Dragon kamisama is back after a considerable amount of time...sorry about that! Well anyway, on with the story!**

 _"Tell Mobius an old acquaintance of his is waiting. Also, he wants his daughter back."_

A few minutes later a trembling woman led a tall & lean man towards the lounge at the back. Sherlock stepped into the dark and smoky room. He welcomed his old friend, nicotine. 'Ah! Now I can think and function like how I should.'

"Enjoying what, I hope, is to your liking?" The shadow spoke. "You haven't forgotten, Mobius." Sherlock made himself comfortable and parked himself at a ledge, his arms crossed and his calm stare fixed on the shadow's face. "Now, where is she?" He asked.

Mobius laughed, a genuine laugh. "You and your daughter both ask the stupidest questions. Let me ask, what will you gain by asking?"

"Doesn't matter what I gain. What do you loose by answering?" Countered Sherlock. "I suppose not much. But you have a lot to gain, so I wont tell. Although, I think Prettch is having his way. Feisty one, isn't she?" Sherlock stiffened the slightest bit.

"To say the least." He said, a small smile curling on his mouth. "She's gone, isn't she?" Sherlock asked quietly. Mobius shifted a bit. Sherlock caught it. "I'm right then?" He smirked.

Mobius laughed nervously. "Well, you caught me there." His demeanor changed. "Bur I now that I have you, she'll come running back eventually."

"No she won't because this was an inside job. And no, you don't have me. Not yet."

"Don't I? Did you think your doctor sidekick would back you up? I can tell you right now that he is having a hard time dealing with my men in the basement."

Sherlock smiled, showing all his teeth. "I never meant him." Mobius chuckled, "I swear, I can never guess what the great Sherlock Holmes is thinking. You're a freak man!"

"Your right about the first part. The second part needs a little revising."

"Yeah, you prefer high functioning sociopath, right?"

"Well I'd like to stay and chat a bit more but I have a daughter to find. Toodles!" Sherlock turned the door handle. It was locked. 'Typical' Sherlock thought. "Did you think I would let you walk away just like that?" Came the quiet reply from Mobius. He wan't laughing anymore.

Sherlock turned. "No. But, I expected more creativity. This is too simple."

The blast came shortly after.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello! Dragon Kamisama is back with another chapter for all you guys... hope you enjoy this one.**

William and Tessa burst out from the labyrinth, quite out of breath. Tessa took a moment to observe her surroundings, catching her breath. They were standing in the middle of a deserted room. The room had stunning architecture but years of negligence resulted in an overall drab and must feel. There was one thing that caught her eye. Peeking out from behind a down trodden door was a fresh coat of paint...Tessa could smell it. It struck out like a sore thumb. She made to move towards it, when William stopped her. "We need to leave.." he hissed.

"Just a minute. Look at this.." she swung open the door and they were greeted by a huge fresco, brightly painted. It depicted the birth of christ and the visit of the kings. She stood and stared, in awe of the beauty and the skill. William stomped his foot impatiently, "Look Tessa, the paintin's beautiful and all but we gotta go before they catch up..."

"Shush...There's something off about it. I just don't know what..." Tessa got the distinct feeling that William gave her an exasperated look and probably thought her to be very stupid and uncaring of the fact that they were not safe.

"Well, i don't see anything wrong with it...there's baby Jesus and mother Mary and the kings from afar...they even put in a few shepherds and their sheep see..." He pointed at the animals drawn on the bottom. "There's nothing wrong nor odd, so can we please escape to a safer place?"

"I don't know..." She simply kept on staring...especially at Mary who knelt besides the child fast asleep in the manger. 'Wait...weren't there three kings who visited Jesus...' She counted them...and realised that the figure drawn as Mary could very well be mistaken as the third king...which meant the painter either did not paint Mary, or omitted the third king. 'How odd...' "Look William, the third king is missing!" She exclaimed. William looked, "Well I suppose so...but what of it?" He didn't look to hung up on what it's significance could be. In his opinion they had to at the very least move towards a more crowded area and find help.

"It's some sort of message...I'm sure of it." Tessa pressed on, thinking hard on who could have left it and what did it mean. She began looking at the surroundings within the painting, trying to see if there was anything unusual about it. William, in the meantime, realised he should at least close the door behind them, so that people chasing after them don't exactly see them first-hand. He also realised that staying there would actually be beneficial to them, because no one would be stupid enough to hide under people's noses. Then again that's what made it a bloody brilliant idea. He smirked, she unknowingly led them to the safest option and the best chance of escaping without a hitch. He looked around the room and saw a few sticks of dynamite lying around. He picked them up...because you never know when explosives could come in handy.

"Look, here are explosives." He spoke softly. "Hmmm..." was all she said in reply. She was staring at the stars in the painting. They were weirdly drawn over like a splash with numerous spokes coming out from the centre. They also had a tail from the bottom. 'A shooting star? No it can't be they would be slanted downwards with the tail towards the sky not...coming from the ground...Oh! They're fireworks! But fireworks weren't there back then...Did they symbolise celebration?'

A soft thud broke her from her reverie. William instantly clamped her mouth shut and cowered at the farthest corner. She smelt gunpowder and realised that William's fingers were covered in it. She slowed her breathing, inhaling the littlest possible.

"I should have made that damn brat show her face..." came the snarl of a man. Tessa recognised it with a jolt. It was Prettch. He had caught up! "Get up you fools...They are probably miles away but we gotta 'nother option. We'll chase using our motorbikes...Now get going towards the garage!"

They were several mumblings of 'Yes Sir!' before she heard numerous thumping of people walking towards the exit...

They waited till the sounds became almost non-existent. Tessa struggled against William. It was getting a little hard to breathe, but William whispered softly, "Endure it a bit more...I don't think he's gone...not yet." She shivered in response. It would be horrible if he found out. Finally, he loosened a bit and Tessa brushed his hand away, gulping down air as quietly as possible.

"How come your hands are covered in gunpowder?" she whispered.

"Huh? Oh...I found dynamite...see..." He held up the explosive. Something clicked in Tessa's head. She looked at the fireworks and at the explosives. "Someone's asking us to blow something up! That's the message!"

"Um...okay...So what do we blow up and who sent it..." Will asked. "Also how do we know that the person who left this is on our side? Besides wouldn't blowing anything up call attention to us? I say we get out..."

"You realise that the both ways have guards who are on high alert that we have gone? Let's just create a third exit...Oh! Create a third exit! Create a third king!"

"Say what now? How does an exit relate to a king?"

"I don't know but gotta use that dynamite to blast open a wall or something..."

"Isn't that a bit reckless?"

"When were we ever not reckless?"

"Point. So what do we blow up?" He asked, flipping the dynamite stick. "I bet it's got something to do with the missing king...I'm gonna look around and see if our mystery person left us some more stuff to use."

"It's probably my dad..." She began. "Huh your dad?" William looked up at her. "He's here isn't he? To pay for your ransom?"

She nodded quickly, "Although he probably would've have figured out how to bust me out without actually paying and if I happened to get away on my own, he definitely would have left me something to decode."

"Hey do you think that he would use an x to mark the spot?" William crouched down near the wall opposite the fresco, which happened to be right next to the door. (A/N: Imagine the room to be hexagonal in shape, on one wall is the fresco, the wall opposite is always three walls away and the door is in the wall next to the wall opposite to the fresco...get it?)

"Um maybe." She approached him from behind and peered at the black inky cross over the brick in the middle of the bottom. He tried pulling at it and it came off quite easily. He reached inside and found a flint and some matches. "Well he certainly does want us to blow something up." Remarked Tessa.

"Didn't we already establish it to be the wall?" asked William. He proceeded to fit the dynamite stick in the small hole and tried to light it. "You probably should get some cover..."

Tessa snorted, "I don't think there anything that I could possibly use as cover."

He looked over, "Just stand as far away as possible, I'll come join you as soon as I finish this delay switch." He carefully started arranging the matches lengthwise from the wick of the explosive. Tessa just stood in the furthest corner of the next wall. He looked up at her, "Why are you standing there?" he asked.

"Well this area would probably get the least damage and it is quite far and most of the energy will probably be directed upwards so we should crouch."

"It is a fairly large room...I'm lighting this up. Brace yourself." He warned and set of the end of the matches. They lit up one by one and by the time William crouched next to Tessa, the wick had already been lighted.

They waited for the blast to happen. It was all over in a matter of seconds, with debris flying over Williams head. A piece of rock caught Tessa right on her shoulder and she gave a small yelp of pain. After the debris had somewhat settled, both got up and made their way through the dust towards the hole in the wall that they created. Tessa could make out a hazy figure through the translucent screen.

Sherlock stood at the other end, sporting his trademark smile. "Well it's about time." He said. "Hello, Tessa."

 **There you go! An extra special long chapter...**

 **I have my board exam in less than twelve days...so yeah I will be spending my time studying for quite a while. Sorry in advance but will get back during my holidays! Until then see ya!**


	13. Chapter 13

Sherlock stood at the other end, sporting his trademark smile. "Well it's about time." He said. "Hello, Tessa."

Tessa smirked, "Well hello to you too, Dad." Sherlock stepped through the debris and turned around. Tessa could make out another man standing behind Sherlock.

"Dr. Watson!" she exclaimed. Sherlock looked at her in amusement. "Well I suppose you don't have her anymore, Mobius. Now before Mycroft comes in, do the honourable thing and make a deal with me. You have no bargaining chips with you at the moment."

The figure shifted slightly and when the smoke cleared, Tessa saw that the man was not in fact Dr. Watson, but rather the laughing man who taunted her in the cell. The man, Mobuis, took a long drag before speaking, "I suppose you won this battle Sherlock. Very well then, I may not have any more bargaining chips, however that doesn't mean I lost the war. I'll get those nukes, which means I'll come after the girl sometime soon. You know what her worth is. Well, it was great doing business with you. Unfortunately I can't say the same for your brother. See you soon, Sherlock." And with that, Mobius walked through the door in the room he and Sherlock were in.

"Where's Dr. Watson?" Tessa wondered out loud. Sherlock looked even more amused. "Yes, I very much wonder where Dr. Watson is. Surely he's here somewhere."

"Oh for god's sake Sherlock, would you shut up?" came John's voice. His head poke up from under the rug in the room. "Well? Don't just stand there, come on." With that John disappeared once again into the floor.

Sherlock looked at Tessa. "Coming?" He said. He started walking towards the rug, used his leg to shift the rug a bit and jumped down. Tessa looked at William, who had been quietly observing the exchange. He noticed Tessa looking at him and gave a light smile. "I don't think Mobius noticed me, hopefully. Well, wouldn't want to keep Mr. Holmes waiting. After you."

Tessa returned the smile and imitated the jump that Sherlock did. She regretted it. She fell right on her right foot and twisted her ankle. Sherlock was standing close by and he said, "You're shorter than me. Why did you jump without telling me? Now look, you've gone and injured yourself." He crouched down and faced his back towards her.

"Huh? But you jumped and I thought it wasn't that big of a jump, cuz Dr. Watson was able to pop out...and why are you crouching like that?" Tessa asked.

Sherlock looked over his shoulder, "If it wasn't a big drop, you would've heard a sound. John was standing on those ladder rungs see..." He pointed at the wall. Tessa saw the rungs and suddenly felt embarrassed that she didn't notice them. "Oh." was all she could say.

"You could've climbed down, that would've been safer than jumping. And as to why I'm crouching like this...I'm offering you a ride. Climb on my back." Sherlock said.

"Oh, that's okay! I'm fine, I can walk..." "No. You clearly aren't fine with that injury. Don't try to fool me and get on my back." Tessa could see that Sherlock was being very firm and so she crawled ono his back and latched her arms around his neck. He lifted her with a grunt, hooking his arms under her legs.

"Are you okay there, Tessa?" William's voice came. Sherlock noticed the young man standing on the last rung. He asked, "And who are you?"

William looked a little abashed. "Um..I'm William sir...um...I think I can help you out...I knew Amanda, sir..." Sherlock narrowed his eyes. He seemed to be scrutinising William, and he just turned around and said, "Come along boy. We'll talk once we're out." With that he started walking through the dark tunnel. Tessa felt her leg throb less and less. She also felt a slight bounce in Sherlock's step. This combined with his scent was enough to send her already tired body into sleep.

Sherlock heard her soft snoring and smiled a little. He shifted slightly and she mumbled something. He sighed, 'She's so exhausted...and we need to move quickly before my back becomes exhausted as well.' He shifted again and Tessa settled more into her sleep, burying her face in Sherlock's scarf. On of her hands clung to a stray curl on Sherlock's head. He sighed again, 'She's just like a small child clinging to her parent's hair. What am I to do with her.' With a jolt he realised what he just thought. His eyes widened by a fraction as realisation dawned on him. He smiled a little more. 'I guess I could cut her _some_ slack. But she's got a lot more to learn...especially if I'm gonna take custody of her...as my daughter.' He continued following John as he contemplated training his daughter in his footsteps.


End file.
